Obama Becomes Negative, Dissing the Treasury

Paul Krugman
Dana Milbank
Jacob Bernstein
Eric McMorris-Santoros

"By making what was in effect a multibillion-dollar gift to Wall Street, policy makers undermined their own credibility — and put the broader economy at risk." - Paul Krugman

"The GOP has returned to a familiar line on Obama and national security in the days since Holder's announcement. It's time to be afraid again, they say, hearkening back to the days of duct tape and Orange alerts even some Republicans thought they left behind on Election Day 2008." - Eric Santoros

President Barack Obama's poll ratings have slipped below 50% for the first time since he was elected. Until the major battles in Congress die down, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan become resolved, and small businesses make a comeback along with more available jobs, it won't get substantially better anytime soon. After the heady elation that surrounded his victory, there is bound to be a negative reaction as the realities of the job conflicts with promises made on the campaign trail. But most important, is the jobs.

Did anyone really expect more transparency? The reason for opaqueness in an administration is because they don't want the public to know every time they make a mistake and screw things up. If the public knew how much the Pentagon spent on developing weapons and planes based on ideas that are so plainly obvious they never will work, their budget would become a lot smaller and designs more intelligent. Every time information is labeled classified, you would be appalled at what it contains and they would be embarrassed and humiliated. National security is just a polite term for smoke and mirrors...

I'm beginning to think that there really is too much disinformation on the Internet. Then, if you gravitate to sites that always make stuff up and you believe in it, what does that say about one's critical abilities? A majority of college graduates never pick up a book after they matriculate, and years of getting your news and entertainment from television develops passive functioning instead of active behavior. That's why I yell at my tv so much.

But it gets worse for that dwindling number of our population, known collectively as the Republican Party: "A new Public Policy Polling survey found that a majority of Republican voters think that ACORN stole the presidential election for Barack Obama last year.


Fifty-two percent of national GOPers said ACORN stole Obama the presidency; only 27% think he won it legitimately." It's sad, really sad, and I'm beginning to wonder what constitutes reality? As the day of the ending of the Mayan calendar approaches, our political and social landscape more closely resembles a Phillip Dick novel, fueled by amphetamines and incipient paranoia...

And Sarah Palin responded to her critics by saying that they were a bunch of lonely, shallow people. I'm lonely, yes, my social life consists of this blog and hanging out with one cat and three small doggies, but the conversations we have together are anything but shallow. Do you even realize how under-rated Little Friskies are, or that a dog wearing a sweater is no laughing matter when it snows? In the words of Lady, an eight-year-old chihuahua, WOOF RUFF WOOF! Which, translates as: bring it on, bitch!

can't get no respect...
Even Fed Secretary Timothy Geithner is feeling the heat, especially from Republicans in Congress: "... at a session of the Joint Economic Committee, Republicans escalated their attacks on Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, including a call for his resignation.

"Conservatives agree that as point person, you failed. Liberals are growing in that consensus as well," said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.). "For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?"


Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Tex.) took a different tack. "I don't think that you should be fired," he told Geithner. "I thought you should have never been hired."

Unfortunately for these Republican critics its felt that the economy is recovering, if a bit sluggishly. Mr Geithner wants to stop the bailout program and use the funds towards balancing the budget. On the other hand, Ron Paul's bill to oversee the Fed passed overwhelmingly through committee, with Barney Frank the lone dissenter.

Despite the bravado that the GOP is going to pick up a lot of seats during the next mid-term election in 2010, this display signals that many of the players are worried. Insert sports metaphor here. Of course they will win some, but the promise of in-fighting with the tea addled among themselves may prove to be as destructive as it will be entertaining. Many of the state GOP parties are trying to par down their candidates to one, so that there won't be any primary fights. Here in Colorado, they are trying to rally around Scott McInnis, but that old wacko campaigner, Tom Tancredo, is threatening to spoil things by throwing his hat into the ring for Governor.

And now, our New York moment of Zen:

Obama Contracts Asian Flu, The Politics of Heroin, Chairman Putin v William Browder

Dana Milbank
EJ Dionne Jr

"Obama's reluctance to be challenged in public is more problematic. It sends a message to the world that contradicts his claim to the Chinese students that he is a better leader because he is forced "to hear opinions that I don't want to hear." - Dana Milbank

"Obama didn't just offer bromides about hope and change. He made specific pledges. You'd think that the newly empowered Democrats would want to deliver quickly." - EJ Dionne Jr

"Ugh! I know you must get so frustrated because you're all about accountability!" - Sarah Palin

Today's pundits are mostly critical on Barack Obama's trip to Asia. The most salient point was that he showed up at an economic conference without an American plan for Asian trade. This may hurt us in this area in the near future, and letting China exert more influence in the region will hurt India right now. The good news is that he behaved in a polite manner, which scored brownie points with the Chinese, and he didn't throw up on anyone like Bush the Senior, or pull a Merkel, with uncalled for intimacy by massaging any foreign leader like Bush the Junior... The bowing thing is a non-issue, showing confidence in yourself to give a sign of respect, than not bowing and exhibiting an xenophobic arrogance like his wimpy critics...

another Bush legacy...

Afghanistan is called the second most corrupt nation in the world. It produces 90% of the world's supply of heroin. The Taliban had shut down almost all heroin production, and it was started up again by the CIA, who have a history of trafficking in heroin from Asia. This situation was developed by the Bush administration's rules of engagement back in 2001 and 2002. Our soldiers there were not allowed outside of Kabul, only the CIA was in the countryside, looking for al Qaeda. They had to forge relationships with local warlords, who used the money and opportunity to expand opium poppy production. You might say that Donald Rumsfeld was the Godfather of Afghan opium...

In his blog at Foreign Policy,Thomas Ricks relates the cycle of corruption touted by David Kilcullen, who probably knows more about counterinsurgency than anyone else on the planet. He relates that: "... a Western diplomat in Kabul told him that the government there reminds him of the Nationalist Chinese government in 1949, with an urban elite trying to scrape together as much wealth as they can before time runs out and they have to scoot.


Kilcullen described a "cycle of corruption" that is destroying Afghanistan:

Corruption

Leads to

Rapacious behavior of government officials

Leads to

Rage and alienation of the people

Leads to

Operating space for the Taliban

Leads to

Growing Taliban strength

Leads to

Taliban encouragement of poppy cultivation

Leads to

Poppies producing funds that corrupt government officials

Leads to

More corruption

And so on...

The urban elite gathering funds can describe the situation in any country, from the families of Somali pirates driving their Mercedes, to all countries receiving US economic and military aid. A minister in Afghanistan recently received a $30 million bribe from China, and this is on par with the amounts of money being skimmed. When Paul Bremmer was in charge of Iraq he imported $1 billion in cash, transported over by military aircraft, and distributed in bribes. When asked by a Congressional committee run by Henry Waxman what he did with the money, he used the excuse that he couldn't recall... This cycle could also describe the corrupting influence of lobbyists on Congress, my favorite bugaboo, with the American Taliban being the disaffected religious right and other mentally ill political extremists. Instead of poppies insert your favorite flower of corruption, from AIG or Goldman Sachs to the drug companies or insurance industry that gives the millions of dollars to the lobbyists to tempt your representative in Congress...

Today Karzai said that the Afghan military should be able to take over all operations from NATO within five years...

more than just trading partners...
Now we can turn to a strange case of institutionalized Russian corruption, proving that Iran is not the only one to trump up charges and jail people for self interest. And just like in Iran, the suspect dies while in jail after being tortured: "A 37-year-old Russian lawyer for an international investment fund, Hermitage Capital Management, died in a pretrial detention center on Monday, nearly a year after he was arrested in an escalating feud between the Russian authorities and the company, Russia’s Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday. The lawyer, Sergei L. Magnitsky, who was in charge of the tax practice at the Moscow law firm of Firestone Duncan, died of toxic shock and heart failure in the prison hospital, said Irina V. Dudukina, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry’s Investigative Committee."


This lawyer was a pawn who got caught by trawling officials trying to strike back at: "Hermitage Capital and its owner, William F. Browder, once among the most prominent foreign investors in Russia. Mr. Browder was widely known for accumulating large stakes in companies like Gazprom, and then badgering them to fight corruption in their ranks and provide greater transparency. In 2005, without warning, he was barred from Russia.


Last year, Mr. Browder accused the Russian authorities of using his Russian companies to embezzle $230 million from the Russian treasury. He said that when he complained, the police began a campaign to intimidate his representatives, including Mr. Magnitsky. The authorities, meanwhile, have accused Hermitage of failing to pay about $17.4 million in taxes. Mr. Magnitsky was working as outside counsel for Hermitage when he was arrested and held without bail in connection with the tax case."


Ruling interest in Gazprom was bought by Prime Minister Vladimer Putin after William Browder was kicked out of the country, and business was back to usual. There are cases under investigation linking Mr Putin to poisoning a journalist in Britain, and others involving the silencing of his critics. Along with the yearly beatings and deaths of immigrants, Russia still has some serious social issues that were ignored by Dimitry Medvedev's state of the union speech, preferring to stick to safer economic issues. See, the Bush administration wasn't so bad, and Lynne Cheney is just an amusing attack weasel let out on the chain by her abusive father. Dick only accidentally shot a friend in the face, it could have been oh, so much worse...

how about some late night jokes? Notice any similarity between the first joke and some material in my blog for the past couple of days? Glad to have that reader from Los Angeles:

"Liz Cheney said on Fox News that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, should run for president in 2012. In fact, that's apparently in the Mayan calendar too, you know. Cheney becomes president, and then the whole world ends. That's exactly what happens." –Jay Leno

"President Obama arrived in China yesterday. And to foster the spirit of good will, he wore the traditional clothes made by the children of China. You know, L.L. Bean, J. Crew, Banana Republic, Nike, Reebok." –Jay Leno

"And experts now say China wants a bigger role in world events. Really? What, being our landlord is not enough now?" –Jay Leno

"Oh, you know what happened on this day in 1973? Richard Nixon uttered his famous line, 'I am not a crook.' That's back when being a crook could actually hurt a politician's career. See, now it's just part of the job." –Jay Leno

"President Obama winding up his Asian tour this week. There's a switch. Something American in China. You never see that." –Jay Leno

"And yesterday, while speaking in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People, President Obama paid tribute to China for its economic successes. And you know something: it's amazing what can be accomplished with child slave labor. It's fantastic." –Jay Leno

"And the Postal Service announced last week the Post Office lost $3.8 billion last year. I've got a good idea. Let's put the government in charge of healthcare! Fantastic idea!" –Jay Leno

"And last night in New York, for the third time in two weeks, Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade was involved in a traffic accident. Remember the old days when the Vice President would just shoot you? No wonder they want universal healthcare." –Jay Leno

"And Congress now looking at a possible amendment to a bill that would allow passengers to check guns on Amtrak. That's amazing, isn't it? They figured out a way to make Amtrak even more dangerous." –Jay Leno

"And the Boston Teachers Union is stopping 200 teachers from getting their bonuses for good job performance. The union says teachers, good and bad, should all get bonuses. Even the Obama Administration is calling this socialism." –Jay Leno

"Former Vice President Dick Cheney is in the news. Cheney slammed President Obama for bowing before the emperor of Japan. Cheney said, 'Come on, it's not like he's the CEO of Exxon.'" –Conan O'Brien

"It's been announced that President Obama's first state dinner at the White House is going to be held in honor of the prime minister of India. Guests are encouraged to wear black tie and to bring any laptops with tech problems." –Conan O'Brien

"Sarah Palin is still dominating the news here. Last night, she was in an interview with Barbara Walters. She was asked to rate Obama's performance as a president on a scale of 1 to 10. And Palin was like, 'Oh, that's easy, F.'" –Jimmy Fallon

"In a new interview, President Obama said that the people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy if our debt continues to grow. And Americans were like, 'Uh, way ahead of you, dude.'" –Jimmy Fallon

Parallel Politics, Right Wing Roundup

Maureen Dowd
David Harsanyi
Dana Milbank
Michael Crowley

"In their quest to thwart President Obama, Republicans do not fear the hobgoblin of consistency." - Dana Milbank

"You're either A) a scum-sucking, terror-loving elitist or B) a radical, tea bag-loving simpleton." - David Harsanyi

"A combination of Jesus, Mohammed, and Moses couldn't get that straightened out." - blackton

parallel universes...

The difference between the Bush White House and the Obama White House is dramatic in many ways. One way that George Bush's team and the Chinese Communists have in common, neither believed in having free press conferences or townhall events or rallies. Both are very controlling, only letting their faithful attend, and not letting spontaneous questions be asked. Everything had to be scripted, and I'm sure that Obama may have felt like he was at a GOP event when he went to the Chinese townhall meeting. It was only televised locally and taken off of the Internet after 27 minutes. Obama had to be careful not to offend his Chinese hosts, with no informality allowed... And just like the good old cold war days, everything that he did or said in his hotel room was recorded for Chinese posterity. Anyway, I'm sure that Obama did better than H W Bush did when he visited China and ended up throwing up all over the Prime Minister's shoes...

Rule # 1: Never Yakk on the Ruling Party

The Situation Room is a big teleconference setup, where those in the White House can converse with those outside of Washington. Bush and Cheney were very paranoid that any arguments said during a conference would get leaked to the press, and castigated their General in Afghanistan for asking for a specific number of troops one day. In contrast, almost everything said in Obama's Situation Room gets leaked to the press, including General McChrystal's asking for 40,000 more troops, to all arguments for and against any future policies: "Obama told CBS's Chip Reid that he is "angrier than Bob Gates" about the leaks surrounding his deliberations on strategy in Afghanistan." To be fair, McChrystal was his own leak with his own, independent press conference, letting everyone know his position on Afghanistan. In another world not ruled by West Point graduates, he would have been fired for his insubordination.

It's interesting that both the US Justice Dept and the Karzai government announced special anti-corruption task forces at the the same time, proving there is a certain amount of synchronicity in our world. As long as we have private contractors to show these foreign governments how to rip off the US and over-inflate their services, no real progress will ever be made. We still have companies like Blackwater employed by the State Department and the Pentagon, guess who is protecting Hillary as she attends Karzai's coronation? The same private US firm that was outed for partying and abusing the Afghani staff while guarding the embassy in Kabul has just been awarded the contract for security at the Bagdad Airport by the Iraqis. So it goes...

The hawks among us, especially Dick Cheney and his special friends, are whining that Obama is taking too long in his deliberations over Afghanistan. But Obama has to correct the mistakes that Bush, Cheney and company made during the eight years of their reign, the myopic pig-headedness of Cheney and the fantasy approach of not having a plan and sticking to it for Bush. As Condoleeza Rice admitted to David Sanger: "There would be meetings, and a recognition that we needed a more comprehensive approach. Then we'd meet again in a few months, thrash out the same problem, come up with the same solution, talk about the same comprehensive approach, and little happened." As a result, the problems in Afghanistan were left to fester while Bush tried his best to focus on Iraq. Screwed that up, too.

In contrast, Barack Obama is seeking input and listening to all sides, from the military, from the foreign policy wonks, from Germany, Britain, China, Russia, and even places like Slovakia, who has just pledged to double their force in Afghanistan. Bush invited NATO into Afghanistan, with 24 countries sending soldiers with 24 different rules of engagement. The Germans were forbidden to fight, so they sat around and drank the beer that was imported from home all day. One result is the recent report that the EU people training the Afghan police are doing a poor job... The Taliban exploited this situation, and applied the strategies they learned from the Pakistani intelligence and the US when we originally trained them as allies, easily took advantage of a weak and corrupt government who were just as violent and unforgiving as they were.

Stategies have to be developed to actually end the conflicts. We can't wipe the Taliban off the face of the earth, so must find a way to incorporate them so they will stop killing their countrymen, and can stop sending our brave sons and daughters to sacrifice their mortality. As Obama told CBS: "Whenever I visit Walter Reed or other military hospitals, I see the incredible sacrifices our men and women are making," he said. "That is a heavy weight." I, for one, feel that he is right to take his time, I pray that he will find the correct choice...

right wing mobs...

Iran has sentenced 5 green movement protesters to death, in what looks like a universal escalation of right wing fervor. In the US, tensions are escalating towards violence as self-styled tea partyers descend on Florida to combat over the race for Governor and similar issues: "A violent brawl at one Tea Party rally Saturday laid bare the raw emotions now wrenching American society... One fistfight does not signal a dawn of 1960s-style social upheaval. But the weekend’s events, seen as a symptom of the polarizing rhetoric that fueled them, point to a nation in which the political extremes are active and agitated."

And in Russia, things have been kicked up a notch: "A young antiracist campaigner who frequently clashed with Russian nationalists has been killed in Moscow in what investigators and analysts suggest is probably part of an increasingly violent conflict between ultranationalists and groups that oppose them...Darker-skinned Russian citizens and migrant workers are frequently the targets of attacks, with dozens dying each year in racist and xenophobic murders. Violence against antifascist campaigners, however, is not uncommon." And here we thought that we were unique, right Tom Tancredo and Pat Buchanon?

There is something going on all over the world, as we, in this day and age, try to confront racism and promote acceptance.The crazies are feeling hemmed in and beginning to lash wildly in all directions. It soon will make last summer's protests look like a Madhatter's picnic. Threats against Obama have risen 400%, and each month the anger gets kicked up a notch, more hate-filled anti-Obama icons fill the Internet, until someone like the person who killed the abortion doctor will take the advice, and, in a fit of right wing religious fervor, make the dark fantasy come true. Maybe that is what is meant by the ending of the Mayan calendar...

Jet Skiing Among the Corpses, Iran's Clean Bill of Nuclear Health, Fraud Task Force Five...

Dana Milbank
Steve Clemons
Eugene Robinson

"So much for the Obama team's pledge to be transparent, forthright and accountable for their actions." - Steve Clemons

"The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea." - Chairman Mao

"Only dead fish go with the flow," - Sarah Palin

So, you are a rich, young Iraqi, whose family made lots of money in bribery and skimming off of American military aid, what hobbies are there for you to do? How about jet skiing along the Tigris River? Perfect: "Lingering violence and raw sewage in the water are no deterrents for a group of wealthy, young Iraqis who spend their free time jet-skiing along the Tigris river in a burst of white foam and spray.


Unfazed by reports that everything from chemical waste to bodies are dumped into the river, young men in life vests zoom through the muddy waters as curious bystanders on the banks look on. Speedboats and the occasional water-skier also swish by." Hey, it sure beats planting bombs among your enemies...

did Iran pass the test?
The IAEA just got done inspecting in Iran, where they warned that there maybe more hidden facilities that nobody knows about. Well, duh. The Iranians so much as told us so, that all of the places where parts are made for their nuclear program are spread out around the country, so that one bombing raid wouldn't destroy the program. And they told this to the IAEA back in 2005.

It's already too late, Iran has all of the information, knowledge, and hardware to make nuclear weapons, we've known this since 2005 also. It's called having a virtual bomb, where you have all of the tools you need to convert to making weapons, but you don't because the threat is enough. Israel has this capacity, too. Iran is just a short time away from being able to produce weapon grade nuclear material, and we have lost the window of opportunity for being able to coerce them, thanks to the pig-headedness of Dick Cheney's views and the distraction that Iraq had on George Bush from 2003 on.

Regular sanctions won't work anymore, either. What Obama is doing is about the only thing we have left, to get Iran's major economic trading partners, and the ones who sold them their current nuclear technology, to publicly try and bring them to the negotiating table, or no more goodies. Russia was helpful because they stand to gain from the solution of letting them refine the nuclear fuel for Iran's reactors. What was surprising was China just agreeing to help, which isolates Iran without any superpower allies, not even North Korea can come to their aid.

Iran reacted to the IAEA's report on their site at Qom: "The report by the agency showed that there was no deviation in Iran's peaceful nuclear programme... In the report it is clearly said that no centrifuge machine has been installed in the site and no nuclear fissile has been used there." And to the statement that the IAEA doesn't really trust them about not having any other facilities : "We reject this 100 per cent. This kind of judgment is absolutely wrong, unfair, political and beyond the [IAEA's] mandate. There is no justification for it." 


Next, the IAEA went to Syria, asking them why there are traces of uranium in their turbines? The last thing we need is the rest of the Middle East all working on their own nuclear programs, or hiding part of Iran's...


Here is a link to Transparency International's list of nations, listed from the least corrupt to the most corrupt. I have never heard of this organization before, couldn't tell you if they do good work or are just a shell corporation... New Zealand ranks as the most honest, Somalia is the worst. Afghanistan is the second worst, and the US ranks the 19th most honest...

yet another task force...
The administration announced that they are forming a huge task force that will concentrate on economic fraud that led to the recent market collapse. The Justice Department is going to have a meeting with HUD and the SEC, and they are planning on working together on bringing to justice any other Bernie Madoff's floating out there in the ether.

What is wrong with this picture. Yes, we all want crooks brought to justice, but shouldn't these government groups been communicating among themselves all along? When asked why its taken a year to get their act together, Eric Holder gave some BS of an answer, saying it took this long to coordinate things. If our government has become this dysfunctional, maybe its time to take a page from the conservative play sheet and shave down the bureaucracy. We need one that works well, and it won't matter the number of bills introduced to Congress on financial rule reform if you can't enforce the damned things or get information from another department.

Its bad enough that our intelligence agencies can't play with each other and there still is constant turf battles and withholding information. With the number of information leaks to the press by members of Obama's team, I wouldn't tell them diddly either... But we also have to begin ending corruption at home, and the government has to start ending the dishonest practices it uses in giving government contracts and allowing companies like KBR to overcharge billions of dollars. We have to stop dishonest bribes through lobbing and not allow members of Congress to rip us off and not pay the money back. Who will watch the watchers when they can be bought off for the price of a few rounds of golf and an expensive car?

I'm still waiting for some honest change. I can believe in that, not the politics as usual that is going on right now.


Oh yeah, the Army announced that the suicide rate among military forces will be higher this year than last year. When asked if the unusual amounts of stress from multiple deployments might have something to do with it, the talking head said, no,  he really had no clue...

Palin's Coming Out Party, The Spoils of War, Death To Webusers!

Paul Krugman
Fareed Zakaria
Geoffrey Dunn

"I don’t begrudge Mr. Obama the banquets and the photo ops; they’re part of his job. But behind the scenes he better be warning the Chinese that they’re playing a dangerous game."  - Paul Krugman

"We're going to put together a list of all the people thinking of running for president and ... give assignments to each of the would-be presidential candidates." - Grover Norquist

"Why are they always picking on the bald guy?" - Steve Schmidt

palintology...
Today begins Sarah Palin's media tour for her new book, and her interview on Oprah. The rest of this week the media waves will be filled with many, many stories about whether Sarah is a viable candidate or a vindictive person aimed at payback in her book. I think she is like most people when they tell stories, they exaggerate to make it interesting. I have friends who do that when they argue, and it drives me crazy because I focus on the lie and not on what they are saying; so Sarah's critics will have much to rant on about and take her down a peg. I find her amusing and pleasantly eccentric, not too bright, and lapping up every bit of attention she receives. I'd be a media whore too; most people would, thrown into the national spotlight, in a good way, and suddenly people want everything from your autograph to your endorsement for a political campaign... Remember, death to that pitiful Katie Couric...

From the Daily Beast are the top Going Rogue book leaks:

1. Sarah Palin Pushed to Go After Jeremiah Wright
2. Steve Schmidt Cursed Around Kids
3. No Levi Bashing
4. Her Diet Was an Issue
5. Palin Not Allowed to Talk to Her Favorite Reporters
6. Shopping Spree Forced on Her
7. Katie Couric Interview Done Out of Pity
8. Prank Call Astounded McCain Staff
9. Palin's Favorite Democrats
10. More (Secondhand) Schmidt Bashing
11. Palin Reveals Her Dirty Little Secret - she once received a "D"
12. Creationism Makes for Awkward Conversation
13. Upcoming Coffee Summit with Clinton?
14. Vendettas Against Oliver Stone and Alec Baldwin
15. She Really, Really Loves Mea


the spoils of war...
As always, the real winners in any armed conflict are the arms makers: "According to Bloomberg News, major U.S. and European defense contractors expect $40 billion in sales over the next five years to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to upgrade aircraft, missile, and naval systems." If this one small conflict can generate so much profit, I wonder how much more profit Iraq and Afghanistan have brought them? And with the rise of private militias here in the US, the domestic arms market is thriving. The wars have also been good for the United Nations, vaulting them out of obscurity and irrelevance into a force for negotiations and creating an international watchdog. If you are a conspiracy theorist, this is the agency that will bring order into the new world, creating a one-world government and signaling the Apocalypse. Unless the Mayans are right and the whole thing ends in December, 2012...

.masr...
A couple of interesting things going on for bloggers and web designers. One:"Egypt says it will apply for the first Internet domain written in Arabic. The new domain name will be .masr written in the Arabic alphabet - which translates as .egypt" Like anything else, it has its pros and cons. It will be a source of pride for Egyptians and help promote more Internet use in the Arabic world. There are already country domain names in English, so this may be redundant. It would only work if the involved governments allowed more freedom of expression, or, as one person emailed the BBC: "It doesn't really mean anything in the scheme of things - Egypt has one of the highest rates in the world of bloggers being detained or threatened."

"In reality, I believe this might actually be a step backwards in some ways for Egyptian youth and Arabic internet users in general. Most of the social networking websites have already implemented this. I agree, this is an amazing achievement, something that we can use as our own, in our own language, but I also believe this will hinder Egyptians from learning and seeing more frequently English; which is what most need to master in order to succeed in their jobs."   - Sheen Atwa, Cairo, Egypt

The second, more ominous development, is the Orwellian Iranian web monitor set up by the police: "Iranian police have set up a special unit to monitor political websites and fight internet crime.
The head of the unit, Col Mehrdad Omidi, said it would target political "insults and the spreading of lies". Oh, well, this site is screwed, and I apologize to my Iranian readers, hope I didn't get you in any trouble...

But even in the face of adversity: "... activists continue to set up new websites to keep their campaign alive, as they have no access to state media.... Iranian experts say the deployment of the new unit is aimed at choking off the opposition campaign. "Authorities know that the internet is one of the few available channels for the opposition to make its voice heard. They want to silence opposition voices," journalist Akbar Montajabi told the Associated Press news agency." 

At least 30 protesters have been killed, thousands have been arrested and some 200 opposition activists remain behind bars... Three have so far been sentenced to death.

Even if you are the most blatant right wing mentally ill blogger in America and I strongly disagree with everything you say and the twisted way you say it, I defend your right to create your website and blog and your freedom to express yourself. The government in Iran is becoming a military fascistic state, and I fear for the brave people who live there, and I admire every ray of light that shines through the wall of doom and gloom. Maybe Apple can find a way around this little problem, then there truly can be an app for that...

some late night political jokes:

"President Obama's approval rating down to 46 percent. That means 54 percent of the people do not approve of the job he's doing, which I think is totally unfair. We should at least wait until he actually does something." –Jay Leno

"Lou Dobbs has quit CNN. And here's the weird part: He didn't want to quit, his work visa expired." –Jay Leno

"Gov. David Paterson made a shocking statement today. He said, 'New York will be broke by Christmas.' Today, Gov. Schwarzenegger said, 'Christmas? What's your secret? How'd you last so long?'" –Jay Leno

"A middle school in North Carolina has caused some controversy, because they were offering to improve test scores for cash donations. For a $20 donation, kids could get an increase of 20 points on any test they chose. It was the 'Cash from Flunkers' program." –Jay Leno

"Remember the crazy astronaut lady who put on a diaper and drove cross country? She was in love with another astronaut. And I said to myself, well that's what happens when you mix vodka and tang." –David Letterman

"On Monday, Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Palin will sit down and they're going to talk for an entire hour. And I was thinking, too bad John McCain didn't do that with her before he chose her as his running mate." –David Letterman

"President Obama is traveling to Asia this week. He'll be making a trip to China. While he's there, Obama plans to visit the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and America's money." –Conan O'Brien

"Forbes magazine just came out, and they've released a new list of the world's most powerful people. President Obama is number one. Interesting, yeah. And apparently, Oprah is pissed off." –Conan O'Brien

"When he returns, President Obama is expected to finally reveal his strategy for the war in Afghanistan. The strategy is called, 'Don't ask, don't tell.'" –Jimmy Fallon

"Speaking of 'Don't ask, don't tell,' Congressman Barney Frank said yesterday that the military's 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy will be repealed next year. It's going to be replaced by the policy, 'Yeah, we knew.'" –Jimmy Fallon

"Big news, Lou Dobbs announced on his show last night that he was leaving CNN. No word on where Dobbs is going to go next, but I think we can all rule out Telemundo." –Jimmy Fallon

"They're not welcome there. Dobbs said he's leaving because he wants to engage in constructive problem solving. He's already solved one problem, for CNN." –Jimmy Fallon

US and Pakistani Distrust, Palestinian End-Around

Helene Cooper
Jonathan Turley
David Ignatius
Frank Rich

"Among the cherished prerogatives of members of Congress is the right to second-guess."  - David Ignatius

“Do you want Americans fighting and dying for the Karzai regime?” - Matthew Hoh

A few days ago I had a link to the lengthy Seymour Hersh article in the New Yorker about the probability of securing Pakistan's nuclear weapons if things fall apart and it looks like extremists will take over and have access to those weapons. The main problem we have, and it's the main problem we have with our allies the Pakistanis, is that we don't trust them and they don't trust us. There is a history of failing to live up to promises made, and even giving them $1.5 billion in bribes seems to make things worse.

Pakistan developed nuclear weapons because of their institutional paranoia over India. They seem to have collective guilt ever since their nation was carved out of Indian territory, and the fear that at any minute India will invade them to take over again. India developed their nuclear weapons in 1974, Pakistan in 1998. There were three attempted attacks on Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in 2007 and 2008. We fear what would happen if extremists, either the Taliban, al Qaeda, or rogue members of the Pakistani military got control of a nuclear bomb. A senior Pakistani official said in an interview, when asked about the Americans wanting more information on their arsenal: "Even if there was a military coup d’état in Pakistan, no one is going to give up total control of our nuclear weapons. Never. Why are you not afraid of India’s nuclear weapons?” the official asked. “Because India is your friend, and the longtime policies of America and India converge. Between you and the Indians, you will fuck us in every way. The truth is that our weapons are less of a problem for the Obama Administration than finding a respectable way out of Afghanistan.”

There seems to be a lot of nationalistic pride about having nuclear weapons. Another official said: "... both sides are lying to each other.” The information that the Pakistanis handed over was not as complete as the Americans believed. “We haven’t told you anything that you don’t know,” he said. The Americans didn’t realize that Pakistan would never cede control of its arsenal: “If you try to take the weapons away, you will fail.” They keep the missiles deep underground in a series of tunnels, mostly to keep the information of where they are away from the prying eyes of US intelligence.

Most of the Americans working with the Pakistanis don't trust them, they speak with a forked tongue, kimosabe... An assessment of one special forces officer is: "I have met and interacted with the entire military staff from General Kayani on down and all the general officers on their joint staff and in all the services, and I haven’t spoken to one that “loves us”—whatever that means. In fact, I have read most of the TS [top secret] assessments of all their General Officers and I haven’t read one that comes close to their “loving” us. They play us for everything they can get, and we trip over ourselves trying to give them everything they ask for, and cannot pay for." A senior Bush administration official who dealt with Pakistan puts it more bluntly: “If a Pakistani general is talking to you about nuclear issues, and his lips are moving, he’s lying,” he said. “The Pakistanis wouldn’t share their secrets with anybody, and certainly not with a country that, from their point of view, used them like a Dixie cup and then threw them away.”


A lot of the distrust stems from the perception that the Americans left and deserted its allies after the Soviet failure to take over Afghanistan. There is also the habit of telling people what you think they want to hear, instead of the truth. We can thank the intelligence networks for this, constantly playing the Great Game for global one-upmanship... On their side, the Pakistanis have a history of ripping off their business partners, giving them fake intelligence and selling inferior goods. We can thank them for doing this to Iran and North Korea, constantly selling them old, out-dated nuclear components and faulty information on how to refine the fuel, until Iran caught on and went to China and Russia for better deals.

As long as we are infidels, we will never get a fair shake in the Muslim world. Days after Hamid Karzai "won" his re-election, he was publicly being derogatory towards NATO and the Americans. His attitude prompted the American ambassador to cable Washington, saying to be wary about sending more troops to support such a duplicitous leader. Karzai hates us for talking in public about his government's corruption, especially Joe Biden and Richard Holbrooke.

The US is caught on the horns of a dilemma. If we keep funneling money through the central government, most of it gets ripped off by officials. If we stop, a central Army won't get built and sinks back to control by warlords. The current strategy is to do more on the local level, trying to bypass Karzai, and befriending local leaders to bribe and build up their economies independent of central control. Its part of counterinsurgency strategy, but it may all fall apart as soon as the Americans withdraw, like so many alliances that were made in Iraq. As soon as we turned our backs, members of the Anbar Awakening were no longer paid by the Iraqi government, jailed, or hunted down and killed.

So it looks like there is a shaky relationship, fed by the horrors of war. We will never get rid of the Talibans by killing them off, the Afghanis and Pakistanis have to deal with it themselves, and we have to trust them to do it their way, which is the same way that is counterinsurgent strategy: giving people a better way of life and education so that they won't choose extremism. Oh yeah, and don't send Joe Biden anytime soon...

forcing the issue...
The Palestinians have decided to bypass the stalled talks with Israel, and are going to the United Nations to ask for their official support for a Palestinian state: "Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said officials plan to ask the UN Security Council to back a set of guidelines for a Palestinian state.

But he said there is no timeframe for the initiative, which would include the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem - areas captured by Israel in the 1967 six-day war. "Now is our defining moment. We went into this peace process in order to achieve a two-state solution. The endgame is to tell the Israelis that now the international community has recognised the two-state solution on the '67 borders."

Of course, the Israelis don't want to be forced back to the table, saying that the ploy won't work: "I think the Palestinians should know that unilateral actions will not lead to the
results they hope for." Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been trying fruitlessly to get the talks started again, but are being ignored by both parties. Critics see this a major failure of foreign policy, but American Presidents have been trying to facilitate this process for over 40 years, and the most successful to date was Jimmy Carter. To be honest, until a more liberal Prime Minister and government gets elected in Israel, and Hamas grows up and learns more responsibility, the Palestinian question remains stuck in the mud, sinking slowly into the setting sun. So right now all that one can do is keep trying to get the antagonistic parties back to the room with the meeting table, because there must be a pony in there somewhere...

pressuring Congress to do the right thing...
Barack Obama did right by the victims of the Fort Hood tragedy, by asking: "Congress to hold off on any investigation of the Fort Hood rampage until federal law enforcement and military authorities have completed their probes into the shootings at the Texas Army post, which left 13 people dead.


From his airplane flying to Singapore, he told the squirmy dogs to "resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater." He said those who died on the nation's largest Army post deserve justice, not political stagecraft. "The stakes are far too high," Amen to that brother, but will Joe Lieberman and others too enamored with themselves pay attention?

Yemen Again, Appeasing Chinese, Unfair 9/11 Trials

Alan Dershowitz
Charles Blow
M J Akbar
Rami Khouri

Balloon Boy Sprecial
Denver Post

"Don't mess with America's emotions, America has the emotional instability of a hormonal teenager." - David Lane

“They are demanding unicorns in Kabul.” - Abdul Rashid Dostum

I had written the last few days about the situation in Yemen, thinking that the rebel Houthi clan was a small group radicalized by al Qaeda training, with fighters coming back from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reading more background and history, I find that the Houthis comprise over one third of the population, and they used to rule Yemen with autocratic authority until 1962. Originally annointed by the British, they were installed to rule as an elite tribe, similar to how the Saudi royalty was formed and selected to rule. They were overthrown in 1962 when more Democratic reforms were created.

The current claim by the Houthis is that they are being persecuted and that they would like an autonomous area to rule, if they can't be in charge of the whole country. The current Yemeni government says damned right, they don't want the Houthis in charge anywhere in this small sliver of sand, and would be happy to eradicate them or have them immigrate to Iran. The Saudis feel they were tricked into guarding their border when the Houthis took over an area in Saudi Arabia and killed a soldier, all for sparking international attention and sympathy to the poor Houthi cause: "The Saudis have stated from day one that they are keen to protect their borders [and] that they are keen to create a buffer zone. These were all public announcements," Iran is happy at any disruption to Saudi power and influence in the region, as they consider them their major persecutors and obstacle in restoring Persian dominance. We have yet so see Hillary visit and speechify her opinions on the conflict... But the besieged Yemeni government is getting attacked from several fronts and it may not hold up, and Saudi Arabia has a definite interest in a strong, stable, non-hostile government from its neighbor: "Riyadh has become increasingly anxious about the stability of the government in Yemen, which is facing opposition from the Shia population in the north, separatist sentiment in the south and a growing threat from al-Qaeda fighters."

the biggest loser...

Obama is in Singapore, on his way to China. Political maneuverings are going on, and it looks like the US once again is going to screw over the Dalai Lama and his hopes for an unoccupied and free Tibet. China threw a hissy fit and broke off relations with France after Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama right before the G20 meeting, and this influenced Obama choosing not to meet with the Dalai Lama when he was in the US.

China forcibly took over Tibet and then made many Han families move to Tibet so they could say that it was a Chinese territory, and have been persecuting anyone who has allegiance to or even smiles at the Dalai Lama. I wonder if we would have the same attitude if we took over Mexico. After all, for years we have been sending many old people to retire there... maybe we could also annex any country where a large ex-pat community has blossomed.. Anyway, Obama will spend more time sucking up to China, because they are our largest lender and could bankrupt us at any moment, instead of hanging out over a beer or two as equals. We could ask the Chinese if it feels nice to rule the world once again...

The largest headline with the biggest impact has been Eric Holder's announcement of the trial set in New York for the 9/11 terrorists.

"How do you defend one of the most notorious terrorist figures in history?"

There will be endless discussions on the choice for a civilian trial over a military tribunal, and if they can get a fair trial in New York, or anywhere in the US, for that matter. This could well be the trial of the century, more entertaining than the OJ trial, and the decisions will be far-reaching and set many precedents: "The Obama administration’s decision to try Mr. Mohammed and four other terrorism suspects in a civilian court provoked sharp debate among politicians and lawyers about whether American courtrooms are the proper place for so-called enemy combatants, whose suspected crimes were hatched overseas and who viewed themselves as participants in a war against the United States. Both sides agreed that defense lawyers and prosecutors would face unique problems in what is likely to be a hugely complex and emotion-laden case.


Whatever the case, if it actually makes its way before a jury, it promises to be a trial like no other in memory, an extraordinary clash involving the morality of torture, due process rights of foreign terrorist operatives, and the ability of civilian courts to handle national security cases." Symbolically, it will be a trial of the Bush administration and all of the decision they made, from getting information out of the suspects, including water-boarding a person 183 times for the fun of it, to keeping them for so long without any formal charges. It will be a mockery, with the acting up of the defiant defendants, and a passion play on religious extremism. It will make or break the careers of all of the lawyers involved, and finally, it will be heart-wrenching to hear again the tragedies of each 9/11 victim. I hope they don't limit it to just American victims, but include all of the international ones as well. If you don't have TIVO or a DVR recording device, you'll be able to buy the DVD's after the trial is over, dubbed in 35 different languages... If you thought the backlash against American Muslims was bad already, this will stir folks into a frenzy that will make the fake tea-party protests this Summer look tame. I really feel sorry, because so much of the drama will take place in the middle-schools and high schools, where so much of our parent's hate is demonstrated by the children...